Mama Wordbones and CG arrived back at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Thursday night after a seven day jaunt through London and Paris. I was there to greet them in the International terminal.The International terminal is not like the other terminal. It is the lesser terminal in many ways. There are no shops. It’s big. It’s empty. The lower level arrivals area is even bleaker, more closely resembling a bus terminal.
Everyone who is there to greet someone must wait until the newly arrived spend a little quality time with the US Customs Service and emerge through the translucent glass doors. It doesn’t happen all at once. Every time the doors part all eyes turn to the opening to see if this time it will be their people, most of the time you just sit and wait.
The only distraction in this otherwise drab environment is the Freedom Shrine, copies of historic documents protected by a Plexiglas shield.
An app saved me. True, I have been critical of apps since becoming a smart phoney, but Thursday night, while hunched over on a backless metal bench in the International terminal, I began to see the possibilities. I watched a series of ten minute NFL highlight videos. I was happy.
Last week Verizon sent me a notice on my phone that I could download the NFL app for free. I didn’t get an opportunity to check it out until that Thursday night in the bleakest part of BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
I was just finishing my fourth video about Chase Daniel, the third string quarterback for the Saints who had a break out game against the Texans, when Mama Wordbones and CG strolled through the open doors.
Touchdown!
